April 13, 2013 (TSR -Xinhua) – Russia will vote against a new draft U.N. resolution on Syria, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
The document, prepared by a number of countries and to be voted soon at the U.N. General Assembly, is “obviously biased and full of conflicting terms,” said the ministry in a statement.
The resolution blames only the Syrian government for the crisis, completely ignoring external military, logistical and financial support for the opposition and terrorist activities of armed opposition groups, said the ministry.
The authors of the new resolution seek approval from the U.N. General Assembly of its unilateral plan for Syria with the single purpose of regime change, said the statement, adding it ignores “regional and political implications of such a scenario.”
Russia noted that the two previously adopted U.N. General Assembly resolutions with almost identical content only served to complicate the process of peaceful settlement. Moscow, therefore, will not support such a document in the vote, it said.
Meanwhile, Moscow is concerned about the prospect of a new discharge of tension and confrontation over the Syrian issue to the U.N., and urges relevant players to consolidate all parties in Syria to implement the formerly-adopted Geneva Communique, which serves as “the only viable platform for Syrian settlement,” said the ministry.
Brahimi to brief UN Security Council on Syria next week
Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN and Arab League special representative for Syria, is scheduled to brief the UN Security Council next week, a UN spokesman told reporters here on Friday.
Brahimi “will be here on Friday, 19 April, when he is scheduled to brief the Security Council on Syria,” said Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to the press at the daily briefing.
“His briefing to the council will be a day after one by several senior UN officials on the humanitarian situation in Syria,” added del Buey.
The now two-year old conflict in Syria stands at a stalemate, despite the attempts of Brahimi who began his work last August, to reach a resolution between the government and opposition.
An investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria, initiated at the request of the Syrian government, has now been stalled as well after the Syrian government denied access to the inspectors outside of Aleppo.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Monday that the UN request to conduct a full investigation about chemical weapons on all Syrian territories runs counter to the request of the Syrian government.
According to del Buey, following a meeting on Thursday with U.S. President Barack Obama concerning possible chemical weapon use in Syria, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is “regrettable” that the Syrian government has rejected his offer.
“He noted that the team is to work under his authority in accordance with General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, and is now ready and can be deployed soon,” said the deputy spokesperson.
Additionally, John Ging, the Operations Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), will begin a three-day visit to Aleppo on Saturday, in order to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground.
The number of casualties claimed by the violence in Syria is now estimated to be around 70,000, according to UN reports.
